Anastomosis, the operation of joining two ends of biological vessels, such as the oesophagus, colon or other parts of the gastro-digestive channel, is often accompanied by complications. For instance, the most important complication and cause of death following low anterior resection involving the colorectal segment is anastomotic leakage. In many cases re-interventions are needed to treat the complications. Leakage may occur as the result of dehiscence of the anastomosis itself or of the tissue of the digestive channel just proximal or particularly distal of the anastomosis. This may occur typically approximately at around five days after the creation of the anastomosis. Furthermore, there is an increasing use of preoperative radiotherapy of rectal cancer and of the digestive channel in general causing additional problems in anastomotic healing and making the tissue proximal and particularly distal more vulnerable. Quite often a temporary diverting stoma is created to reduce or prevent the complications resulting from an anastomotic leakage. A stoma does not prevent leakage but it drains the gastro intestinal contents before it can get near the newly formed anastomosis. The creation, use and removal of a stoma, restoring the “normal” situation is a burden for the patient and a very costly procedure. To avoid severe complications like peritonitis and septic shock it is important to prevent anastomotic leaks and to take all measures that might eventually be responsible for that complication.
In the art, condoms have been used for the protection of coloanal anastomosis, see e.g. Yoon et al. (“Intraluminal bypass technique using a condom for protection of coloanal anastomosis”; Dis. Colon Rectum. 37(1994) 1046-1047). According to this known technique, a sterilized (latex rubber) condom is used to protect a hand sewn coloanal anastomosis. Although this technique is said to be safe, there are still instances of colonic necrosis reported.